DHHS revises health advisories for the Dan River area

DHHS revises health advisories for the Dan River area

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Public Health has updated health advisories issued in February after the coal ash spill into the Dan River near Eden.

The advisories address concerns related to human exposure to the water as well as fish and shellfish consumption from the river.

DHHS recommends lifting the recreational water advisory after evaluating recent surface water and sediment data from the Dan River.

Duke Energy recently finished cleanup efforts in the river. DHHS says no incidental ingestion or skin contact risk exists for the sediment or the river water.

A potential fish and shellfish consumption hazard still exists immediately downstream of the spill. DHHS recommends that people not consume fish or shellfish collected from the Dan River downstream of the spill site.

DHHS will evaluate the data from fish samples as it becomes available to identify when health risks associated with eating the fish are no longer a concern.